Upon Fragile Wings
by Lithoniel
Summary: Set after DH, ignoring the Epilogue...Draco has felt trapped for years, but will someone be able to set him free? Mentions of slash, Harry/Draco, rated for that XD


Draco Malfoy wasn't sure when the dreams had started, but he knew that the feelings within said dreams were brutally honest. In his dreams, he'd been trapped in a cage suspended by golden chains, surrounded by darkness broken only by the faint green and yellow light which allowed the chains and cage to be visible. He felt trapped, cold, alone, and lost, and when he was awake he knew that those feelings were what he was hiding from the rest of the world and himself. Ever since he'd been forced to take the Dark Mark, he'd felt lost and hopeless. He'd become disillusioned about the world quickly, secretly hoping for some way to be freed from the cage and chains that bound him.

* * *

After the defeat of Voldemort, the feeling of being trapped had not left the young blonde. He'd not felt any worse, luckily, but he still felt like he was being held somewhere against his will. It was odd, a little scary, and unfortunately becoming very common.

Then, he met Harry once more.

The boy-who-lived-to-defeat-Voldemort was not how Draco expected him to be. Instead of being happy that the Dark Lord was gone, Harry seemed to be in constant thought, to the point of excluding his friends. He seemed to be looking for something…

And then one day, when his bright emerald eyes met the silvery orbs belonging to Draco, it seemed like the raven-haired young man had discovered what he was looking for.

* * *

"Just leave me alone, Potter!"

"No," Harry replied calmly, completely unfazed by Draco's vicious snap.

"What the fuck do you want?" Draco scowled. Harry just grinned and sat beside the fuming blonde Slytherin, secretly wanting nothing more than to make sure Draco felt free for possibly the first time in his life.

* * *

Draco's dreams changed. Now, every now and then there would be a white orb flowing through the 'air', lifting the darkness to reveal a few large golden ring-like objects suspended near his cage. The coldness disappeared.

* * *

Draco sighed as he was once again cornered by Harry, this time in the Room of Requirement. The blonde had taken to studying in there, trying to get away from the hostilities of other students so he could prepare for his NEWTs.

"What do you want, Potter?" he asked resignedly, and rolled his eyes inwardly when the other teenager settled on the couch right beside him.

"Nothing, really," Harry just shrugged. "You look like you need to relax a little, though. Why don't you take a break for a moment?" Draco hesitated, then sighed and nodded, setting aside his textbook and parchment to rub at his shoulders. A moment later he found himself seated between two strong thighs, a pair of large, callused hands expertly working out the knots and tension within the muscles of his shoulders. Before he could stop himself, Draco had relaxed with a soft moan, his head falling forwards as Harry's hands expertly worked out the kinks and tension in Draco's shoulders.

"Why did you do that?" he asked when it was over, scooting into his own seat with his pale cheeks slightly flushed. Harry smiled at him sadly.

"You look like you're trapped somehow. I want to help set you free."

It didn't answer his question – not really, anyway – but it made the blonde think.

* * *

Draco's dreams were different again. From his back grew small white wings, and the bars of his cage began to peel away. A few small blue birds with odd wings were visible when the white orbs of light – more numerous now than before – came along, and their songs lifted his spirits slightly, so the feeling of being alone never quite took hold. And Harry's words echoed around him softly…

"_I want to help set you free."_

* * *

Draco shuddered and swore quietly as pain ripped through his leg, struggling to get to his feet so he could limp to the Room of Requirement and maybe find something to help fix up his leg.

"Hey, slow down," Harry's familiar and not-really-wanted voice said softly, a strong arm slipping around Draco's waist and gently lifting him from his awkward half-crouch. "You'll just hurt yourself more if you're not careful." Draco gritted his teeth and glared at the irritating Gryffindor.

"Leave me alone, Potter," he snarled, wincing as he tried to put weight on his injured leg and it crumpled.

"No," Harry said firmly, shocking Draco by carefully lifting him into his arms. The blonde struggled for a moment, but stopped when the movements just sent his leg into spasms of pain. "I said to stop moving," Harry chided as he started to walk, carrying Draco with ease along the corridors. "Who did this to you?"

Draco was stubbornly silent, and Harry sighed.

"I can't do anything about it unless you tell me who it was," he informed the blonde as they reached the Room of Requirement and slipped inside. Draco averted his gaze from the raven-haired teen as he was set on a couch gently. Harry sighed, and transfigured Draco's uniform pants to a pair of shorts instead, ignoring the little squeak that escaped the blonde at having his legs revealed.

"Potter!" the blonde protested, but Harry ignored him as he began healing the gash and broken bones which were causing Draco so much pain.

"Please tell me, Draco," Harry murmured when he was done, manipulating the blonde's formerly-injured leg to test for mobility and such. Draco hissed when his leg was bent, Harry immediately began to massage the stiffness out of the muscle of his thigh and calf.

Draco sat stiffly for a little, but his resolve wavered at the relaxing touches and he all but melted into the couch at the soothing motion of Harry's callused hands over his sore leg.

"There's nothing you can do about it," he said finally, his eyes closed as Harry massaged out the tension in his newly-healed leg.

"Try me," Harry murmured, gently kneading the tense muscle beneath his hands. Draco sighed.

"It was the Weasel and Weaselette," the blonde admitted, sounding almost sleepy. Harry paused for only a moment, but it was enough for Draco to open his eyes. Said eyes widened when he saw the pure fury on the Gryffindor's face, and the blonde swiftly curled up at the opposite end of the couch.

"I'm going to kill them," Harry snarled, his hands clenching into fists and his eyes blazing with anger. "I told them – I _told_ them – not to do anything to you!" Draco was shocked, his wide eyes focused on the Gryffindor as he fumed. Harry turned slightly, saw the expression on the blonde's face, and forced himself to relax. "Sorry I startled you. I was just hoping those two would actually listen to what I said for a change." Draco snorted, and Harry grinned sheepishly as the heavy air lifted.

* * *

Draco's dreams changed once more. In addition to everything else, the sound of someone calling his name was audible. The white orbs hovered near his cage, lightening and warming his surroundings as he peered out of his cage. Some of the bars had peeled back entirely, but there weren't enough of them gone for him to escape. Every now and then he saw a figure with large white wings in the distance, but he couldn't see who it was, just that they seemed to be looking for something or someone.

"_Draco…where are you?"_

* * *

Draco glanced up from his textbook when a familiar weight settled onto the couch beside him, and blinked when he saw Harry's face.

"What happened?" he asked, examining the bruise forming on one side of the other teen's face. Harry snorted, rubbing his forming bruise ruefully.

"You know how I was supposed to get my Muggle relatives from their safe-house and take them back home?" he asked, and Draco nodded. The week before, Harry had told him that he would be gone for a few days, and that if anything happened to him (Draco) that he should see Madam Pomfrey, who knew about Harry's forming friendship with the pale Slytherin teen. "Well, Uncle Vernon was not impressed by the damage in the living room from the Death Eaters that attacked on my seventeenth birthday."

"He _hit_ you?" Draco asked incredulously, and Harry shrugged.

"It's not like it hasn't happened before, Draco. Anyway, what are you studying for?"

"Arithmancy," Draco replied absently, before shaking his head. "Tell me what happened!"

"Nothing, really," Harry shrugged. "As I said, Vernon wasn't too impressed with the state of the living room, and I was closest."

"But—" Draco was cut off by a pair of warm lips pressing against his own, his silver eyes staring wildly into the emerald-green pair of the teen currently kissing him. Harry's hands moved slowly to hold the blonde to him, one hand wrapping around the other teen's slender waist while the other hand came up to cup Draco's cheek lightly. Harry's lips moved gently against Draco's, his eyes locked on the blonde's as he coaxed said blonde into kissing him back.

Draco gasped when Harry nipped lightly at his lower lip, and his eyes slid shut of their own accord when the Gryffindor's tongue slipped into his mouth and began stroking against his gently. Draco responded timidly, allowing Harry's tongue to explore his mouth while his own tongue began to move against that of the larger teen somewhat playfully. His hands moved from his sides to wrap around Harry's neck, tangling in his black hair and holding the larger teen close as their tongues duelled frantically.

"Draco," Harry murmured when they parted for breath, leaning their foreheads together as the blonde panted heavily. "I don—" he was cut off by Draco initiating another heated kiss.

"Don't," the blonde pleaded, shivering with desire as he leant against the larger teen. Harry hesitated for a moment, but then transfigured the couch into a large and comfortable bed, moving to hover over the smaller teen as his eyes bore into Draco's.

"Do you want this?" the raven-haired teen asked seriously, his eyes locked on those of the boy he loved. Draco shivered again as he wrapped his legs around Harry's waist and rubbed their hips together, causing Harry to swear inwardly.

"Yes," Draco whimpered, his hips moving sensually against Harry's and causing the large erection in the larger teen's pants to rub against his own slightly-smaller one.

"Are you sure?" Harry panted, burying his face in the side of Draco's neck even as he pressed the blonde into the bed.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Draco cried, arching his neck as Harry bit down on the sensitive junction of his neck and shoulder. "Harry!" Harry groaned at _finally_ hearing his name from Draco's lips, and with a thought their clothes were on the floor.

* * *

Draco lay panting in his lover's arms a long while later, Harry's body being spooned up behind his and soft kisses being pressed to the back of the blonde's neck. Their bodies were still joined, their legs also entwined so much it would be almost impossible to separate them, and Draco knew that he'd have trouble walking in the morning.

"I love you, you know," Harry murmured in an almost conversational manner, causing Draco to prop himself up and turn his head to stare at the raven-haired teen in shock. Harry just smiled, giving a small, shallow thrust of his hips that made Draco gasp and flop back down with a shuddering moan at the sensation. Harry went to move away, but Draco put his hands over those of the larger teen and squeezed lightly.

"I like you right where you are," he mumbled, giving a small mew of pleasure when Harry shifted back into his original position. There was a quiet chuckle from the blonde's lover, and a gentle kiss pressed against his throat lovingly.

"Sleep, _koibito_," the dark teen whispered, holding tight to his pale lover. "I'll be here when you wake up."

* * *

Draco's dream was again different.

His cage was open, some of the bars peeled and curled back into an opening big enough for him to get out, but his wings were too small for him to fly away. One of those strange blue birds was hovering nearby, watching him curiously as some of the white orbs danced lazily around the golden ring-like objects. Draco was wondering what to do when he heard the sound of large wings flapping, and his eyes widened as a white-winged Harry Potter alighted lightly on the curled-back bars of his cage. The taller teen smiled and offered a hand to the blonde, who looked between said hand and the other teen's face before hesitantly placing his hand in Harry's. Draco found himself drawn from his cage and swept into Harry's arms, the larger teen lifting Draco with ease and placing a loving kiss on the silver-eyed teen's lips.

Draco gave in to the kiss gracefully, his arms winding around the larger teen's neck.

"I love you," he whispered to the dark-haired teen, who smiled brilliantly before swooping in for another kiss.

"As I love you, _koibito_," Harry whispered back, stretching those magnificent white wings and propelling both of them upwards. As they flew out of the darkness and towards a bright sunlit natural clearing, Draco could swear he heard the other teen say, _"I set you free…"_

* * *

Draco woke to the feeling of a pair of strong arms wrapped around him, and the odd sensation of having another man's erection within his body. After a moment of thought, he relaxed completely into his lover's arms and burrowed back against his sleeping lover's warm body. The arms around his waist tightened slightly, but instead of waking, Harry just sighed Draco's name and slipped into a deeper sleep. Draco smiled at feeling his lover's slow breath on the back of his neck, and closed his eyes once more to fall back asleep.

He felt like he belonged here in Harry's arms…like he was no longer alone.

He felt, for the first time in his life…free.

* * *

_Okay...this was inspired by a picture I found YEARS ago, and if you want to see it you can take a look at it using this link:_

http: / haiiro-no-tenshi. deviantart. com/ art/ Upon-the-Wings-of-Your-Design-102646083 _(remember to take out the spaces, though)_

_As I forgot to put this up the top... Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter...if I did, Harry would end up with either Draco, Neville or Charlie, and Sirius wouldn't have died and would be quite happily romping in the bedroom with Remus_

_Please review - flames are welcome XD_

_~Ashuri_


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